GUNNARThe following days passed, each one worse than the previous, according to my wolf. He was in a terrible mood after Aqua's rejection, which also affected my mood too. To cope, I focused all my attention on the affairs of the pack. On the first day, I concentrated on strengthening security by conducting intensive training for the sentries guarding our territory. On the second day, I decided to watch over the young wolves in the pack and supervise their activities. On the third day, the elders summoned me. "I think you should go on a retreat," Nathaniel, my head elder, suggested after a morning pack run. "It will do you and your wolf good to spend some time alone. Just leave the work to your Beta for now." I struggled not to smile at his crafty suggestion, probably out of a desire to spare him some embarrassment. Leaning back in my seat, I replied, "I take it that your son has not yet told you the truth." "What do you mean?" Nathaniel questioned, his brow furrowing in confus
AQUA A week later...I walked to the full-length mirror with two dresses, each one in my hand. I compared each one against my skin, contemplating what I should wear this evening. Because tonight was finally the night River would be taking me out to the movies. A swirl of anxiety and anticipation churned in my stomach. I sighed, letting both dresses fall onto the bed in a soft heap. My eyes drifted toward the other outfit I had laid out. Although I had Gunnar's card to cover all my expenses, it didn't feel right for me to use when I was going out with another man. Fortunately, I still had some savings I kept before I left the Wind Ridge Pack. The door creaked open without warning.Fawn stepped inside, her small hand gripping the doorknob while the other leaned heavily on her walking cane. She paused at the doorway, and an uneasy flicker crossed my face as I moved toward her."Fawn," I murmured gently, announcing myself before reaching out to her. "What are you doing here? I though
AQUAWhen we finally reached the theater, River asked me to go to the entrance first before he steered the car towards the parking lot. After his failed attempt to kiss me, River became more subdued and quiet, only responding to my questions when asked. Eventually, his stunted silence also affected my mood, causing me to fall silent. As I stood at the large entrance of the theater, my mind wandered to Gunnar once again. I wondered what he was doing and where he had suddenly gone, but obviously, he didn't deem it important to share any information with me. My wolf yearned to be her stubborn mate, but after hearing that his desire was to get rid of me, I suppressed myself so I wouldn't be a burden. Gunnar was someone with great responsibilities, so I didn't dare delude myself about him caring about me. Still, it would have been nice if he had told me about where he was going. As I was engrossed with my thoughts, I didn't notice when River appeared by my side. He bumped his shoulders
AQUAThe night sky was filled with countless stars surrounding the bright moon. A cold breeze swept through the air, brushing against my skin, but its chill did little to soothe the growing anxiety knotting in my stomach. River also remained silent when he drove me back home, but I could tell from the car's speed that he was also worried about why Gunnar had summoned me back home.When we finally reached the forest entrance, River finally parked the car and turned off the engine. He turned to me, his deep, concerned eyes locking onto mine, and reached out to take my hand in his warm hands. “Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you?” he asked once again, his voice heavy with concern.Oh, dear moon goddess. The truth was I wanted him to come with me because I was terrified of facing Gunnar alone. But I wasn't sure I could forgive myself if River got hurt because of me.I shook my head and summoned a weak smile. "Nah, I got this covered. Thank you for the date, it was wonderful."
AQUA“It's time I taught you the importance of the mate bond!”His words echoed in my ears, amplifying the fear in my heart. Gunnar's expression was cold and unyielding, but I couldn't find a way to overpower him. His hand disappeared under my skirt, and I could feel the roughness of his hand gliding against my ass. “Please, don't do this, Gunnar.” I pleaded, tears burning down my cheeks.He grabbed my breasts and squeezed, ignoring my pleas. A pained gasp tore out of my throat, my back arching out. I twisted my body, trying to escape from his grip. “Don't move,” he warned. I froze when I felt his extended claws pressing against my skin. I was so scared that he would hurt me, but my wolf urged me to trust him. Because he was my mate, and he would never do anything bad to us. I wanted to trust him. I desperately wanted to, so I forced my trembling body to relax against his, my muscles loosening against his. One of Gunnar's hands moved down my body and felt my bare pussy. My lips p
AQUAOur walk back home was quiet, mainly because each of us was engrossed in our thoughts. I kept rehearsing different apology speeches in my head, but I didn't dare to voice them out loud. Although Gunnar held me close, as if I were a delicate glass figurine, his unreadable expression still intimidated me. His smoky scent filled the air, making me lean in closer even as guilt twisted in my gut.I silently watched him from the moment we entered the house until he started climbing the stairs. The muscles in his jaw were tight, and tension radiated from him in waves. Several times, I parted my lips and closed them, wondering when it was the right time to speak.Did I even have the right to say anything at all? When we finally reached the dark hallway, Gunnar went to the wall and flipped the switch. The entire space was instantly illuminated by the overhead bulbs, but instead of looking at him, I scanned my surroundings, searching for something until I spotted a Mexican wolf standing i
GUNNARShe was driving me crazy.When I returned to the pack from my bloody confrontation with the Thunder Paw alpha, my wolf was already skirting toward the edge of madness. The scent of blood was like a heady rush to him, amplifying his dark cravings for more violence until it almost clouded my senses. Instead of going to the pack priestess's abode to suppress him as usual, I went home, hoping to meet my mate and seek her comfort, but then I discovered that she wasn't home.She went on that date with River.It took every ounce of my self-control not to hunt the pack healer and tear him into pieces. He had taken what was mine, so my wolf wanted nothing more than to gut him in the throat, but my human consciousness, which retained some form of twisted sanity, knew that hurting an important member of the pack was a line that I wasn't willing to cross.So I made a quick call and demanded that he return her as soon as possible before rushing to the lake behind my house. There, I met Tarz
AQUAI opened my eyes in the morning to find myself lying on my bed with my mate's arms around me, my naked body barely covered by the sheets. Memories of the previous night came rushing into me, causing warmth to spread through my cheeks. After Gunnar and I had resolved our misunderstandings about each other, we had sex all through the night with unrelenting, raw passion. My alpha king was insatiable and I loved it. I could sense his affection for me through every caress, every touch, and every kiss.Although it wasn't the kind of love I wanted, I knew I had to be content with it for now. After all, he was still in love with his true mate and that was a feeling that I wasn't sure I could contend with.But I had to try. Because I had fallen too deep to let him go, and as his second-chance mate, I deserved the chance to win his heart. If I could.I gently turned to my side to stare at Gunnar. I was instantly treated to a stunning view of his handsome face. Sleep softened his sharp feat
AQUA I woke up to the sound of water running somewhere. My vision blurred for a second, and then I was able to recognize my surroundings. This seemed to be River’s bedroom, a place that I had visited so many times. The room was well-lit but extremely messy, like he hadn't visited the place for a long time. There were clothes spilling out of his closet and some books scattered across the floor, the kind of mess that River would have never tolerated in the past. I tried to flex my aching limbs to adjust my position only to discover they were bound. The biting grip of the rough ropes digging into my flesh hurt enough to bring tears into my eyes. Panic instantly gripped my heart before my mind could even catch up to the situation. How the hell did I even get here? Where was River? Instinct immediately took over as I tried to retract my claws, hoping to free myself from the tight ropes. But these things were sturdier than I had anticipated, almost as if they were made from another
GUNNAR The sun was high in the sky when we finally reached the boundary of the Storm Fire pack. My men were exhausted from the heat, their bodies glistening with sweat after fighting off a pack of hyenas lingering near the territory. I could sense their fatigue through the pack link but chose not to acknowledge it. I wasn't trying to be ruthless; I knew their job wasn't unfinished. As soon as I stepped into the forest that marked our pack territory, I sensed something was wrong. The weapons the patrols were carrying were not the standard gear I had approved for pack security, which likely meant my family was in danger.I held up my hand to warn my men, who were trudging right behind me. The noise instantly faded into silence as tension seeped into the air. We watched the patrols head towards our location as we concealed ourselves behind the trees.Even their uniforms were different, I noticed when my eyes landed on a badge on one of the men's shirts. At this point, I was starting to
AQUAWhen we returned to the pack, Wilder took us straight to the Kincaid mansion, where the elders were already waiting. My stomach twisted as I climbed the stairs, flanked by guards, every step heavier than the last.Their eyes followed me like a shadow, and the fact that I sensed it made me even more nauseous. These were the same familiar faces that had stood in my living room just two weeks ago, offering smiles, congratulations on my engagement, and pledging undying loyalty to the Alpha King. Now, they sat cold and silent, the weight of their betrayal hanging in the air like a storm about to break.They’d all chosen Nathaniel.And that meant Gunnar’s throne…was no longer safe."What, are you surprised that we got the elders on our side?" Wilder released a low chuckle after he noticed my glare. "Don't be, darling. You'd be surprised at how dissatisfied they have been with your mate's way of doing things."At that moment, I was barely restraining myself from punching him in the fac
AQUA After Saint's death, Odin led Fawn and me to the pack boundary, the weight of our grief hanging heavily in the air. We journeyed for an entire day under a dense canopy of trees without taking a single break. Sunlight filtered through the tree, casting a path over me and my stepdaughter.I nearly stumbled over a root but managed to catch myself before I hit the ground. However, the sudden impact jolted Fawn awake, so I mumbled a soft apology before adjusting her to my body. Despite everything, the wolf didn't stop and continued to walk ahead of us. With each step, I could sense the exhaustion radiating from the wolf beside us, his powerful frame still trembling from the ferocity of that intense fight. He must have been devastated about the loss of his brother, yet he continued to push himself to complete the mission given to him. As we moved deeper into the woods, the air grew thick and rich with the scent of damp earth and pine, grounding yet unsettling. The guards had stopped
GUNNARI was several miles away from the Storm Fire pack when I felt it.The pain. The sorrow. The fury.All these feelings struck my heart like a tempest, consuming my senses until I couldn't think anymore. My heart felt so constricted that I couldn't stand anymore, causing me to fall on one knee. When my men saw this, they immediately rushed towards me in concern, but I stopped them with my raised hand. They must have been so shocked they couldn't control their emotions because I felt all their fears crash into my heart.Was it possible they were almost scared to death because of my sudden fall?No, that wasn't it. The general sense of unease spread among the soldiers, making them jittery. I pushed myself to stand, my legs trembling as they bore my weight against the unseen burden pressing down on my heart. Then, a piercing howl sliced through the heavy air, sharp and haunting, reverberating off the trees and sending a chill down my spine. Others might not know where it came from, b
AQUAThe first time I heard about hunter wolves was when I was in the Wind Ridge Pack. They were used to hunt a notorious thief who had broken into Julie's house one summer. The news spread across the pack in less than four hours, mostly because they didn't give us a choice to accept it or not. But if there was one thing I learned back then, it was that those people were ruthless. The kind of people capable of doing anything as long as they captured their prey. Some said they did it because they didn't have any other choice, considering the tight competition in the business. But others said they were psychos, people who enjoyed seeing the pain they inflicted on others. That's why I knew we were in deep shit now. The hunter wolf inhaled, breathing in the cool night air that was faint with our scents. It's the very reason why I had chosen to stay up in the trees, holding that the harsh wind current would mask our scents. But he still catches it nonetheless. “Their scents are still
AQUAOnce I heard the noise from the living room, I pushed Fawn into the kitchen and locked the door. The air was thick with tension, and our ragged breaths broke the eerie silence that enveloped the room. My heart raced as we waited, straining to hear the sounds from the other side of the door. But then, a sharp scream pierced through the air, followed by a series of female cries that sent a fresh wave of panic through me."Shut the fuck up!" Nathaniel barked. When the women's cries were finally reduced to frightened sobs, he muttered some words to the guards before turning to them. "I have no intention to hurt you, but if you don't tell me where Aqua and that little devil spawn are right now, then all of you are going to pay dearly for your silence."Ella remained unfazed by his threat. "But we are telling the truth! No one saw where Her Highness went after she gave us orders to search for her daughter."Nathaniel ignored her and continued to speak to the other ladies, but none of t
AQUAHogan froze midstep when he heard my words. The six-foot, muscular blonde man who had been cooking for Gunnar for over ten years gave me the most sinister look I have ever received. I couldn't help but retreat when I saw him take a menacing step towards me."You're not supposed to be here, Your Highness," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Does anyone know you're here?""I don't need to report to anyone about whereabouts because this is my house," I asserted, my voice sharp and clear. I noticed he had already retracted his claws so I did the same. "What were you doing in the kitchen storage room?"It was the only place we hadn't checked in the house, mostly because Hogan had always been sensitive about letting people in. He would spend the entire day talking about food contamination so I guess all of us were just subconsciously afraid of getting on his bad side.But now, it turned out that he was the traitor we had been looking for."Move aside, Hogan," I ordered. The air in the ro
AQUANow it was 8 pm.The angry mob and the elders were still outside the house, looking for a way to get in. They tried everything they could, but the house's defenses were top-notch, designed with the latest technology, so I knew we were going to be safe.For now."Has anyone heard from Bodhi? Anything?" I asked, my desperate eyes scanning the staff in the house. Due to the chaos happening outside, no one had gone home yet, so they were forced to stay with us.Ella, who had been quiet since she entered the house, finally spoke when she heard me. "I just received a message that he was deployed to fight the rogue wolves trying to evade our borders. He left with most of the sentinels, so there were no reinforcements when our guards were attacked," she explained.My head started pounding as I tried to think of a solution to solve the situation. I knew it was only a matter of time before these people came up with a plan to infiltrate the house that actually worked this time, and then we